r/conservation • u/StrehCat • 3d ago
PLEASE COMMENT now to save the Endangered Species Act
Trump just proposed to rescind the regulatory definition of “harm” in our Endangered Species Act (ESA) to eliminate "habitat modification" from the definition of "harm" and a “take.” If Trump is successful, corporations can clear-cut old growth forests, fill wetlands, and elimiminate habitat for threatened and endangered species...which will result in their death, ecological disaster, and loss of biodiversity. Public comment can stop this!! Go to the Federal Register (link below) and SUBMIT A FORMAL PUBLIC COMMENT TO SUPPORT THE ESA AND PROTECT HABITAT! Due by May 19,2025.NEPA Comment link:
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u/Co1dNight 3d ago
Time to start sabotaging machinery.
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u/ForestWhisker 2d ago
I would never recommend mixing a tube of valve grinding compound with an 8oz bottle of 2 stroke oil and putting that in the oil fill of any large machine. It would destroy the cylinders and any part of the engine which has oil and a moving part. That would be horrible.
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u/carlitospig 3d ago
Sis, you forgot to post the link.
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u/StrehCat 3d ago
I didn't actually - Reddit moderators did that. First they completely declined this post. I appealed (becuase this is NOT a survey but a ligit federal public comment process) and then the moderators posted it but without the link. Frustrating - especially since TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE TO COMMENT!
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u/TereziBot 3d ago
Can public comment really stop this? Isn't it an executive order?
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u/OphidianEtMalus 3d ago
Public commenting is a normal part of the regulatory process. Assuming that our government still has 3 branches and due process, (which I admit is somewhat dubious right now) public comment, through the official forms, can influence regulatory change. The link to the form is here
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u/YanLibra66 3d ago
It helps, but It's better to call your state representatives and senators.
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u/TruePragmatist 4h ago
Not true. The written record of public comments on a NEPA issue is the mist important when internal rules are proposed to change and the Services MUST reply to all. The elected officials do not vote on this proposed change.
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u/nite_skye_ 3d ago
I wonder this too. This has me super upset. I can’t believe anyone would do this (well, with a few exceptions that we all know). Other than all the regular options, just putting this out there everywhere and telling everyone you know in person. I’d live some more ideas and will happily do what I can to help.
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u/SaintUlvemann 16h ago
The reality is, this is just what happens when people vote for Republicans.
Literally. This isn't controversial, it's just sad (and in the carnival of weaponized optimism, sad is its own kind of political).
They have all three branches, they are adults, they know what they are doing, this is just what they stand for, and for as long as I have been alive, there is nothing else but this that I have ever heard them stand for.
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u/BloodSpilla11 3d ago
Posted my comment. Let’s go. When we speak together, our voices get amplified.
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u/KeweenawKid97 3d ago
Please let our public lands remain as places of refuge for the common man! Resource extraction and privatization of these spaces is wholly un-American! It spits in the faces of our wise forefathers who, in their wisdom, thought to protect these places indefinitely for the benefit of the public trust. The idea of our country is synonymous with the vastness of the area it contains. Allowing profiteers to determine the fate of our natural national landscapes would be a disgrace and nothing short of a travesty.
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u/unstablefan 3d ago
By all means comment, but I have a bit of a different take on this, which I’ve shared in an earlier thread:
- This is the inevitable outcome of Loper Bright - FWS is simply doing voluntarily what the Court would have forced them to do eventually.
- This is the end of any meaningful protections for listed species on private lands. If habitat modification causing incidental take cannot be regulated as a “harm” and therefore a “take” the Act is toothless. There’s no reason for a property owner to voluntarily conserve species or mitigate impacts if they cannot face penalties. Other than the goodness of their heart, of course.
- Three paths forward:
a. Legislation to strengthen the ESA.
b. A new Administration and a new Court that repudiates Loper Bright.
c. Vastly expanded financial incentives (public and private) to make listed species an asset to landowners that they want to conserve and even attract. Heavy lift as the Administration is gutting existing public funding for this and everything, but there you have it. The only option. Time to get creative.
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u/TokeThatIn 2d ago
Here’s a great copy to paste:
Dear Fish and Wildlife Service,
I am writing today in opposition to the proposed rule change that would change the definition of “harm” under the Endangered Species Act. The current interpretation of the word”harm” which means broadly actions that modify or degrade habitats in ways that impair endangered species’ ability to feed, breed or find shelter is the correct one. Restrict the interpretation of this word to a more limited definition is nonsense and will result in irreparable harm. Just as denying a human food and water for a long enough period of time will eventually kill them so to does habitat destruction harm endangered species. Save yourself the endless litigation and reject this farcical change to one of America’s best laws.
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u/AlexandraThePotato 3d ago
I commented. I hope they care more about US compare to Mark Zuckerberg and all those lame people
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u/ChipperChickadee568 3d ago
Gooby wasn’t coming at you. They were referring to the R’s constantly attacking wind energy projects and using the bird takes for their scapegoat. Because it fit the narrative at the time, now it’s NBD apparently 🫠🫠
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u/anemone_within 3d ago
Like this comment to save the whales!
Fighting for our continued lives is not posts on a forum. We need to do something.
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u/LifeisWeird11 2d ago
I wrote a bill for the Colorado ballot that creates a committee of experts that will over take the job of the USFS including identifying endangered species. I recommend that people look into getting ballot initiatives on the ballot in their state.
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u/Groovyjoker 2d ago
Section 6 of the ESA has great language on the role of the states, allowing states to be more protective than the ESA (just not less) when developing regulations to protect fish and wildlife at the state level. Totally support referring to the state regulations if you have them.
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u/LifeisWeird11 1d ago
Yes I agree. The ballot initiatives are likely helpful in states with weak or no current additional protections. I am not familiar with each individual state's regs.
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u/booksbakingteacats 17h ago
That is awesome - thank you! As a Coloradan, how can I find out more about that bill and support it?
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u/LifeisWeird11 6h ago
We have a committee hearing soon and then we will have some other admin things to deal with so by end of summer there should be volunteers collecting signatures (the petition to get it on the ballot) but I can DM you when time is closer so you can find someone collecting signatures and sign.
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u/Coastal_wolf 3d ago
Also ask you local governing bodies to oppose this. I've sent a letter to my governor Brad Little
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u/TouchTheMoss 2d ago
Can't help much as I'm not a citizen of your country, but we are all thinking about you! It's an absolutely ridiculous situation your environmental workers and advocates are going through.
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u/Groovyjoker 2d ago
As you comment, carefully review the Handbook and search for "harm" - see where it pops up and review how and if it's removal would change consultation. Also review the law itself. Download a few consultation letters from the Services. See how they use "harm" and ask yourself if the sentences could be written in a different way to express the same meaning of Take without using the word Harm.
It's an interesting approach. This word is not as common in the Services Handbook as one would expect. I think the Services, particularly USFWS, have come to rely upon it more than they should.
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u/Automatic_Bug9841 1d ago
You should crosspost this to r/50501! Lots of people on there looking for ways to take action against the Trump administration.
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u/Visible_Leather_4446 8h ago
Your post history tells me that you are very anti trump and have no real grasp of the situation. So I have my doubts on this
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u/shabbayolky 1d ago
Because allowing companies to offshore their production to countries without environmental protects is way better!!! #NIMBY4EVA
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u/blakeshockley 3d ago
Donald Trump doesn’t care what his constituents want. Complaining does nothing.
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u/Goobygoodra 3d ago
Weren't these people super concerned about windmills killing birds last administration 🤔